Posted September 23, 2015
The former
owner of a Georgia peanut company was sentenced to 28 years in prison on Monday
for his role in a salmonella outbreak that killed nine people and sickened
hundreds, according to a Reuters article available here.
CNN also published an article available here
and USA Today here.
Stewart
Parnell, former owner of Peanut Corporation of America, and his brother,
Michael Parnell, a company food broker, were convicted on federal conspiracy
charges in September 2014 for knowingly shipping salmonella-tainted peanuts to
customers.
The contamination
at the company's plant in Blakely, Georgia, led to one of the largest food
recalls in U.S. history and forced the company into liquidation.
A federal
judge handed Parnell a 28-year prison sentence, the harshest penalty in history
for a corporate executive in a food poisoning outbreak. Parnell is 61 and
unless he wins an appeal, he will have to serve out most of his term, according
to CNN.
Michael
Parnell received a 20-year sentence, and the plant's quality assurance manager,
Mary Wilkerson, was given five years.
A federal
jury convicted Parnell last September on 71 criminal counts, including
conspiracy, obstruction of justice and introduction of adulterated food,
following evidence that Parnell and the co-defendants knowingly
shipped salmonella-tainted peanut butter from the Georgia facility to
Kellogg’s and other customers — who in turn used it in products
ranging from packaged crackers to pet food, according to USA
Today.
Federal
investigators who checked the Georgia facility found a leaky roof, roaches
and evidence of rodents. They also discovered emails and records proving salmonella
tainted food was shipped to customers.
Other
peanut batches were never tested, but were still shipped with fake
lab records stating salmonella screenings were negative, according to the prosecution
evidence.
Additionally, the judge wrote that Parnell and Wilkerson
should bear responsibility for just under $200 million in losses.
Michael Parnell should bear responsibility for just under $50 million in
losses, Sands ruled.
For more information on food safety, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
